


Coping mechanism

by EmmaSpencer



Series: Mycrofox [1]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Big secret revealed, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fox - Freeform, Greg is pretty chill about it, M/M, Mycroft doesn't want to deal with people, Post-Episode: s03e03 His Last Vow, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Worreid Mycroft, Worried greg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 05:13:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14927783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmaSpencer/pseuds/EmmaSpencer
Summary: Greg looked around the office, lastly he looked under the desk. He jumped back when the fox licked his nose. “What the hell!” he rubbed his nose. The fox rolled his eyes, making Greg sit down staring at him with an open mouth.





	Coping mechanism

“Not now Mycroft.” Anthea sighed when the red fox brushed against her legs. “We really need to work, I know it’s not easy but it has to be done…come on.” she sighed. “Don’t make me call animal services.” the fox just curled up next to her leg, she sighed and leaned down running her fingers through the red fur. “I know it’s not easy, it’s your baby brother…and it’s scary, you are worried for him. You want him to get out of this, you want him by your side all the time…” the door got thrown open. “Heard of knocking.” she got up glaring at Greg.  
“Where is he?”  
“Who?”  
“Mycroft, of course. John called me.”  
“I see…he is trying to solve the mess.”  
“What was that?” he jumped back when something gently bit his ankle. He looked around but couldn’t spot the culprit.  
“Don’t yell.” she rolled her eyes. “And you stop teasing your boyfriend in front of me. Come out and get back to normal for him.” Mycroft just snorted. “Deal with him please, the meeting is in an hour. I put together the files till that.”  
“Deal with who?” Greg asked but she already left. “Mycroft? My…where are you?” Greg looked around the office, lastly he looked under the desk. He jumped back when the fox licked his nose. “What the hell!” he rubbed his nose. The fox rolled his eyes, making Greg sit down staring at him with an open mouth. “No…no…what is going on here My?” he came out and laid in front of him his head resting on Greg’s leg. “What is this love?” he touched his fur, it was really soft making Greg smile. “So soft…and cute.” he whispered. Mycroft just huffed but didn’t move away. “Is it some kind of coping mechanism for you? Don’t want to deal with humans so you turn?” he licked his hand. “I see, Sherlock?” he whined and climbed to his lap curling up. “Okay, okay…And you don’t know how to save him…or you think you don’t know.” he whined. “I think you are just overwhelmed now, you already know the solution to this problem, you just need to calm down to see it.” he looked up at him miserably. “Okay, I help you walk through it. He killed a man, he is arrested. We both know that him in prison is a really really bad idea…for him and for the others too.” the fox was shaking under his hand. “You can’t fake his death again…unfortunately there are lots of eyewitnesses…maybe you could take care of all of them?” Mycroft gently bit his hand. “I know, bad idea.” Greg sighed. “I’m just trying to help.” Anthea came in. “Meeting got rescheduled, we must leave in ten minutes. Is he back to normal?”  
“Sorry.”  
“I told you to talk sense to him, not to pet him.”  
“He is really soft…and I was talking.”  
“Mycroft!” Anthea looked at him sternly. “Ten minutes.” she opened the bathroom door. Mycroft jumped off Greg’s lap and disappeared.  
“Anthea?” he got up brushing off the hair from his suit.  
“I freaked out the first time too; he just got the job, he was constantly stressed so he spent quiet a lot of time as a fox, he was in a worse shape back then; biting out patches of his fur. I made him stop that, taking care of those problems helped me get used to it.”  
“But how?”  
“He doesn’t know, but it comes from his grandma.”  
“She could have left me her library, I’d be much happier with that.” Mycroft came back, he looked terrible.  
“They can’t see you like this.” she sighed.  
“Gregory.” Mycroft hesitantly stepped closer.  
“I’m okay love, go and get ready; we talk when you get home.” he closed the space between them and kissed him. “I’ll wait for you.”  
“Thank you.”

“Is that you love?” Greg asked hearing the door close and soon was swooped off his legs by a fox. “I wanted to talk to you love.” he tightly wrapped his hands around the shaking fox, Mycroft buried his nose to his neck and whined. “It’s okay love, it’s okay.” Greg stroked his fur, putting a bit more pressure to help him calm down. “I’m here, Anthea texted me what happened…that is the best choice My. He is clever and well trained…he will come home.” Mycroft whined. “He will, you know that in your heart, even if your amazing brain says something else.” he sat up. “Come you need to eat something.” Mycroft curled up in his lap. “Please love, I want to see you, talk to you…” he sighed and jumped off his lap.  
“You said I’m cute.” he peaked out of the kitchen.  
“You are, now even more.” Greg got up and kissed him. “Hello love.” he wrapped his arms around him.  
“You are not that surprised.”  
“Anthea acting so calmly helped. It’s still strange…please try not to do that a lot. I rather talk to you and help you that way.”  
“I can’t promise, I got so used to it…it’ll take time.”  
“I know…but you are not alone anymore, I’m here.”  
“Thank you.”  
“Not all Christmases like this, I hope.”  
“Next year we are going away.”  
“Where?”  
“I don’t know, middle of nothing, no phone, no work, no family…just us.”  
“What if something happens?”  
“I think Anthea can deal with it, I taught her enough.”  
“I love it already…but now you eat something and then bed.”  
“I’m tired.” he mumbled.  
“What I said.” he smiled at him. 

“How much time you spend like a fox usually?” Greg asked once they settled for the night.  
“Not that much.” Greg tilted his head.  
“I only turn to it as last resort. I know not a healthy coping mechanism, but I got too used to it…Anthea wasn’t freaking out by it, so…I never had a partner long enough to figure it.”  
“I’m here now.” Greg smiled at him. “You can call me whenever you need it and talk to me. I can help you arrange your thoughts, calm you down…”  
“I might try that.”  
“Please.” he kissed him. “One more question; how’s that your fur is so soft?” Mycroft chuckled.  
“Anthea gets stressed out when I’m stressed; she clams herself by brushing my fur…it helps calm me down too.”  
“She told me you hurt yourself.”  
“Not all my scars from my time in the field…I used to self harm when I was young…then I realised this way it won’t leave a mark…so…She bought something terrible tasting to prevent me from biting myself…and it worked. I don’t do that anymore…but I spent more and more time like that.” he laced their fingers. “Not since I’m dating you.”  
“I’m glad love.” he kissed him. “You are more adorable as a human.” Mycroft chuckled. “You can talk to me, don’t forget that.”  
“I won’t.” he whispered. “He is leaving in the morning…I wanted to talk to him, say goodbye, hug him for hours, just like when we were children…but he didn’t want to talk to me, he turned his back to me...I told him the decision and left.”  
“I’m sorry My.” Greg stroked his hair.  
“Then he sent me a note requesting Dr. Watson to be there when he leaves.” he sighed.  
“He’ll come home and be annoying about it. He’ll keep reminding you how your deduction was wrong.”  
“I really hope.” Mycroft sighed.  
“When did it first happen?”  
“After the fire.”  
“What fire?”  
“The ancient family home got burned down. I got Sherlock out and then…I spent the next few days in the nearby woods. I couldn’t turn back…I was scared, I didn’t know what was going on with me, where my family was…My grandma found me and managed to calm me down. We told the others that it was a mental breakdown.”  
“She talked to you about this?”  
“Yes. I was terrified that it’ll happen in front of others…making it happen more and more, the anxiety causing more problems for me. I ended up begging my mother to let me get checked into the psychiatry. She let me and I got put on pills making me calmer. After a few years I could stop taking them, then came work.” he sighed. “And everything came back.” Greg pulled him even closer.  
“Yes.” he sighed.  
“I know tomorrow will be hard and emotional, but promise me I will wake up next to you.”  
“Promise.”  
“And you will call me after he left.”  
“Yes…maybe we could come home after it?”  
“I call in sick tomorrow.”  
“Thank you.” Mycroft laid his head on his chest.  
“And a gorgeous Mycroft Holmes will walk through the door?”  
“I try…for you.”  
“Thank you, love you My.”  
“Me too Gregory.” he whispered.


End file.
